“Joe and Kamala will restore our standing in the world—and as we’ve learned from this pandemic, that matters,” the former president said.
Former President Barack Obama warned Wednesday night that democracy as we know it may not survive if President Donald Trump is reelected. It was a sharp contrast to Obama’s statements since he left office, which have generally refrained from calling out President Trump by name.
Obama made clear his deep concern about the state of the nation under the Trump administration. He also drew a clear line between the GOP and the Biden-Harris ticket—touching on everything from the legacy of the Civil Rights Era in 2020 to the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Obama slammed President Trump’s handling of the pandemic and said our reputation in the world has diminished. Obama’s comments came on the eve of a surprising jobless numbers update, which showed that 1.1 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week. That number exceeded the predictions of most economists.
He also cautioned against Americans remaining disinterested or disengaged. “If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work, and could not work, it was those Americans,” Obama said, referencing the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. But he went on to make the case for re-engaging with the democratic process in order to make the U.S. system more just for all in the long term—a note echoed later in the evening by Sen. Kamala Harris during her acceptance speech for the vice presidential nomination.
Obama issued a final appeal to those who may be undecided about the upcoming election. He made his case by focusing on experience, decency, and work ethic—themes that have been prominent throughout the Democratic National Convention—contrasting both Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris’ long track record of progress against the current administration.
See the full transcript of Obama’s speech here on Courier. You can also watch the speech in its entirety below.
Brandon Gates Brandon Gates is a social editor at COURIER. Prior to joining Courier he worked as a local tv reporter in Augusta, Ga. and had stints in public relations and foreign media. In his free time, Brandon writes for a sketch comedy show in NYC and practices yoga. He is also a powerlifting devotee.
